1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a method for implementing efficiency of work from generation to output of printing and finishing jobs in on-demand printing, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, on-demand printing has been realized by improvement in a printing technique through digitization of receiving an order via the Internet and an image forming apparatus. In a production site of the on-demand printing, efficient production is required for an order of a product, for example, a photobook, a photo album, a manual or the like, including one or more components, such as a cover and a text.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-38107 discusses a technique in which a job including a printing instruction and a binding instruction is generated from an uploaded order, and the generated job is output to an image forming apparatus and a post-processing apparatus, for work efficiency from job generation to job output. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-38107 discusses a technique in which a job is generated from the uploaded order for each of components included in a product, the product including one or more components.
However, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-38107, device selection and a job output operation are required for each jobs for a plurality of components when one or more devices are used to generate a product. This may result in an increase of operation load.